Solar power and pollution

Despite the excessive warming of the planet, many politicians continue to expand fossil fuel drilling in sensitive areas. Fossil fuel use is integrated into the daily lives of American society. Natural gas, petroleum, and coal together accounted for more than 80 percent of energy use in the United States in 2012. Moreover, more than 5 gigawatts of solar power capacity was scheduled to come online in 2013 -- about as much capacity as was added for coal plants over a nearly 20-year span. The characteristics of solar power and fossil fuels drive the desire to adopt a particular energy source for a specific application, and they also limit the possible applications of a specific energy source.

Energy Density

Energy density is a measure of how much energy you can extract from a particular source on each square meter. It's not a perfect comparison, because energy sources are so different from each other that the calculations aren't directly comparable. Fossil fuels are far higher in energy density than solar power. That's why you don't see solar panels powering too many cars: gasoline provides much more energy than could be supplied from solar panels on a car.

Solar Availability

Coal, natural gas, and petroleum are all examples of fossil fuels whose energy density is much greater than that of solar energy. Unfortunately, all three forms of fossil fuels must be mined or extracted from under the ground -- an expensive, and sometimes dangerous, task. But once the fossil fuel is extracted and delivered, it can be used anytime. For example, you can drive your car at 2 a.m. or 2 p.m., or bake a cake at noon or midnight. Solar energy is only available when the sun is shining. Short winter days, cloudy weather and the rising and setting of the sun all limit the availability of solar power. To make solar power available at other times you need to have some way of storing the energy -- which are currently available but at a significant price. Storage batteries are becoming increasingly available. 

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system!

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years.

For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.